Improved Photoelectrochemical Performance of BiVO4 for Water Oxidation Enabled by the Integration of the Ni@NiO Core–Shell Structure

The development of highly efficient and stable photoelectrode materials is significant importance for the conversion solar energy into chemical fuels. Herein, a novel Ni@NiO/BiVO4 photoanode designed prepared water splitting by deposition Ni particles on surface BiVO4 with subsequent thermal treatment. integration Ni@NiO core–shell structure can efficiently passivate states accelerate oxygen evolution kinetics along in situ-generated NiOOH, consequently contributing to significantly improved charge separation efficiency. resulting enabled photocurrent density 2.6 mA/cm2 efficiency nearly 80% at potential 1.23 VRHE—much better than unmodified (1.8 mA/cm2, 64%).